November 7, 2008 Nashville Business Journal

Cascadia condo tower launches pre-sales for riverfront project

Developers of a 16-story riverfront condo tower have kicked off its sales efforts, banking that the 216 luxury units planned for the banks of the Cumberland River will draw buyers despite the languishing economy.

Brian Kemp, a partner in the project’s development group BK Partners, says Cascadia isn’t deterred by the economic downturn or the disappointing closings for condos elsewhere in the region.

He says his firm is anticipating the economy will improve after the election, and that those who decide to live at Cascadia will be seeking something not available anywhere else in town.

“We’re offering products that people just can’t get here,” Kemp says. “We believe that what we have is one of the most beautiful places

in Nashville.”
The average condo price is around $600,000 and caters to a unique market, Kemp says. He says the riverside location and a long list of amenities will draw in residents who are seeking a resort-style residence in Nashville.

The marketing push began with a preview party Oct. 30 at Fuse in Gaylord Opryland. Kemp says they have not been overly ambitious with their goals for pre-sales of units and are forecasting only six closings per month.

After 109 pre-sales, the group plans to start construction of the building, he says.

November 1, 2008 Press Release

Crowd Goes GaGa Over Cascadia Preview Party Scenes Featured on YouTube and www.cascadianashville.com

NASHVILLE, TN, November 1, 2008 – Cascadia made a splash as Nashville’s only luxury resort-style riverfront condominium development during a Preview Party at Fuse that attracted nearly 150 interested buyers and sellers, including Tennessee Titan and NFL Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Johnson.

Preview Party guests got a firsthand look at Cascadia’s focus on the ultimate in “staycation” amenities, including a day boat dock, keyless entry, organic market, fitness center and spa, restaurant, rooftop amenities, private movie theater, 24-hour concierge service, coffee bar, soothing waterfalls and private dog park.

Check out scenes from the Preview Party at www.youtube.com/watch?v=4maStkn3MQQ and get all the latest Cascadia news at www.cascadianashville.com/news.php.

From single bedrooms to the penthouse, Cascadia signature features include:
•Smooth-finished 9' ceilings
•Floor-to-ceiling windows
•Gamma Par® by Nydree hardwood flooring in foyer, kitchen and living room
•Custom cabinets
•Travertine/natural stone flooring in master bath and secondary bath
•Elegant 8' two-panel molded doors
•Schlage® Manhattan lever hardware in satin nickel finish
•Cox Interior moulding and trim throughout
•Security system pre-wire
•Biometric fingerprint keyless entry system
•Bosch® "Evolution" Energy Star® stainless appliances throughout

About Cascadia
Cascadia is home to mesmerizing views of Nashville’s Cumberland River. With 217 riverfront condos ranging from 1081 square feet to 4,731 square feet, it offers elegant rooftop living that rivals the best 5-star resorts. Cascadia also features the ultimate in personalized service and unprecedented luxury living. Find out how you can call Cascadia your new home by calling 615.915.1207. View floorplans and take a virtual tour at www.cascadianashville.com. Or visit our sales center, 2525 McGavock Pike, just off Briley Parkway.

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October 15, 2008 PRESS RELEASE

Cascadia Preview Party To Unveil City's First Five-Star Approach To Riverfront Condos Nashville’s top realtors and opinion leaders to get first look at 217-unit development on tap for Music Valley

NASHVILLE, TN, October 16, 2008 – Cascadia, a 16-story monument to modern design and luxury riverfront living, will be introduced at an exclusive Preview Party Thursday, October 30 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Fuse, located inside the Magnolia Lobby of the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, 2800 Opryland Drive, with complimentary valet parking.

Preview Party guests will get a firsthand look at Cascadia’s focus on the ultimate in “staycation” amenities, day boat dock, keyless entry, organic market, fitness center and spa, restaurant, rooftop amenities, private movie theater, 24-hour concierge service, coffee bar, soothing waterfalls and private dog park.

“As native Nashvillians, we wanted to bring new living options to the river and to one of the most beautiful areas in the city, and I think we’ve done that with Cascadia,” said Developer Brian Kemp of BK Partners. “It’s been five years in the making, and the result is a place you can call home, where you can feel miles away from it all yet still just 15 minutes to the airport or downtown.”
Reserve your Preview Party spot at www.cascadianashville.com/rsvp and prepare to be pampered, including special pricing packages and Realtor/buyer incentives, virtual tours, a sneak sip of the Cascadia signature martini, scrumptious nosh, relaxing Relache’ massages, and spa and sports package giveaways.
The Preview Party marks the official launch of Cascadia, which was introduced in a multi-media advertising campaign last month in The New York Times, The Tennessean, Nashville Business Journal, The City Paper, Nfocus, Nashville Lifestyles, Nashville Home and Garden and area TV and radio.

From single bedrooms to the penthouse, Cascadia signature features include:

•Smooth-finished 9' ceilings
•Floor-to-ceiling windows
•Gamma Par® by Nydree hardwood flooring in foyer, kitchen and living room
•Custom cabinets
•Travertine/natural stone flooring in master bath and secondary bath
•Elegant 8' two-panel molded doors
•Schlage® Manhattan lever hardware in satin nickel finish
•Cox Interior moulding and trim throughout
•Security system pre-wire
•Biometric fingerprint keyless entry system
•Bosch® "Evolution" Energy Star® stainless appliances throughout

About Cascadia
Cascadia is home to mesmerizing views of Nashville’s Cumberland River. With 217 riverfront condos ranging from 1081 square feet to 4,731 square feet, it offers elegant rooftop living that rivals the best 5-star resorts. Cascadia also features the ultimate in personalized service and unprecedented luxury living. Find out how you can call Cascadia your new home by calling 615.915.1207. View floorplans and take a virtual tour at www.cascadianashville.com. Or visit our sales center, 2525 McGavock Pike, just off Briley Parkway.

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October 13, 2008 The City Paper By: Richard Lawson

Developers Bet on Planning, Patience Cascadia has financial backing and a conservative timeframe

With yet another report of home sales continuing to slide in the Nashville area, now wouldn't seem like a good time to launch a sales effort or turn a little dirt for a new condominium project.

But that is just what BK Partners is doing with the $95 million, 217-unit luxury project named Cascadia, which would be built next to the Cumberland River near the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

The developer needs to sell 109 of the units, which are priced from $345,920 to $1.75 million, before breaking ground. Brian Kemp, a partner in the project with John Broderick of Nashville-based remodeling company Broderick Builders, doesn't expect that to happen for at least 18 months.

"I hope it happens faster than that," said Kemp.

The local market, however, doesn't appear to be cooperative or willing to turn anytime soon. The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors reported Thursday that area home sales fell 20 percent from September 2007. They’re down almost 28 percent so far in 2008, which has helped put another local waterfront development on ice.

"We have chosen to put (Cumberland Yacht Harbor) on hold until the condo market improves and the financial market stabilizes," said Alex Marks, a principal in Tower Investments, the lead firm in developing that condo project in Donelson.

On the flip side, the proposed H2O Urban Waterfront District off Charlotte Pike is in the engineering and architectural design phase. Portland-based Alpha bought the 24 acres in June for the mixed-use development.

"We're not stopping anything," said Ron Sapp, a principal in the development, adding that plans are still to get going on construction in early 2010.

Kemp said his team knew the market — booming as recently as 18 months ago — might pass them by as they moved through the process of nailing down their construction costs and securing all of their approvals. The group has done some site preparation before some of its permits expired.

"John and I have about $1.5 million of our own cash in it," Kemp said, adding that they also have a $500,000 line of credit through Wilson Bank & Trust.

Kemp said one local and two out-of-town banks — Kemp wouldn’t name them just yet — have committed to funding construction. In the meantime, he’s confident that, once the storm passes, his project will find an eager audience.

"I started selling resort properties in the Jimmy Carter years," Kemp said. "I remember offering 21.9 percent interest on condos in Gulf Shores, Ala. People are going to look for places that have weathered the storm and Nashville is one of those places."

September 25, 2008

Cascadia Preview Party on 10/30 Call 1-615-915-1207 for details!

Enjoy Music, Virtual Tours, and Exclusive Contract Offers!

Realtors, you will have a chance to win THE PAMPERED REALTOR PACKAGE, with VIP Commissions, Condolux Client Upgrades, and Incentives.

WHERE: FUSE AT GAYLORD

WHEN: OCTOBER 30, 2008 6pm-8pm

Please RSVP by October 24th.

July 19, 2008 The Tennessean By: Chas Sisk

Condo Builder Bucks Market Luxury riverfront project Cascadia will launch in slow economy

The last few years haven't been kind to condominium projects, but that hasn't deterred Brian Kemp.

Kemp, a Middle Tennessee real estate agent-turned-developer, and his partner, a Nashville builder, are pushing ahead with a proposal to build a $140 million riverfront condominium — more than two years after winning approval for the plan from Metro officials.

Calling the project Cascadia, their firm, BK Partners, will start marketing a 217-unit building on the northwestern corner of Pennington Bend next month.

With a strategy that stresses luxury and convenience, Kemp believes his firm can persuade buyers to shrug off a slowing economy and buy a unit in a 16-story high-rise.

The question is whether enough buyers will bite.

Two years ago, lenders were approving buildings like Cascadia in droves, as buyers and investors snatched up units in the latest condo projects. Now few lenders want to touch condos, and developers across the country are shelving such projects.

On top of that, Cascadia is testing an unproven part of Nashville's condo market — the riverfront. In recent years, condo projects have been proposed along the Cumberland from one end of Nashville to the other, but so far only one has been built.

BK Partners will need to commit at least half of the building — which would feature its own organic market, restaurant and collection of private waterfalls, all within minutes' drive of the city — to buyers to persuade lenders to finance the deal, Kemp says.

But after spending years to line up the land, design the building and set up the sales, construction and marketing teams, Kemp says he and partner John Broderick, the president and chief executive of Broderick Builders, have done enough legwork to make the project a success.

They are going to bring their Cascadia to market, even in the current economy.

"Two years ago, I could have put a rendering out and started taking deposits," he said. "Instead, I took a five-year, methodical approach to make sure what we were building was the most beautiful place to live in Nashville."

Project was modified
Kemp's determination to build may not have changed, but a good deal about his project has changed over the last two years.

Originally called Le Rivage, French for "the shore," Kemp's building was conceived as a less expensive and more secluded alternative to downtown's red-hot condo market. In an interview in June 2006, Kemp described Le Rivage as a 10-story building with 188 condos priced from $199,000 to $485,000.

Two years later, Kemp plans to build six stories higher, which will let him add nearly 30 more units and expand their size.

Cascadia's smallest condos will have 1,081 square feet, and its largest will have 4,750, Kemp says. The large majority — about 140 units in all — will be about 1,900 square feet, enough for a substantial two-bedroom flat.

The extra space will come at a price. Units in Cascadia are priced from about $300,000 to more than $1 million.

Kemp has added a dog park, a private movie room, a large atrium and a dozen waterfalls, including a four-story cascade at the building's entrance.

Elements that remain are a substantial retail component and a focus on the river. Kemp plans to build an 800-square-foot day dock on the building, a connection to Metro's greenways and grounds oriented toward the Cumberland.

"We saw that all the projects that were being developed were more urban," Kemp said. "We wanted on-the-water, resort-style living."

Riverfront views are rare
Still, a riverfront project on the Cumberland would be unusual for Nashville.

Three other developers have announced riverfront condo projects near Nashville in recent years, but the only one that has actually been built is The Braxton Condominiums at Harpeth Shoals Marina in Ashland City.

Even in nearby cities where riverfront projects have thrived, interest in new developments has ebbed.

In Chattanooga, for instance, developers and lenders are waiting to see whether the market can absorb the units that have already been built before forging ahead with new projects, said Bill Sudderth, a developer in that city and the former president of a nonprofit that led the reconstruction of Chattanooga's riverfront.

"Clearly here the river is a tremendous draw," Sudderth said. "But I think everybody's kind of waiting to see how this plays out."

Kemp, however, believes that Cascadia's look, luxury amenities and location can overcome the skepticism. BK Partners will market its building to buyers across the region and to people who want a home that is convenient to downtown and Nashville International Airport.

One potential source of buyers is people associated with the Grand Ole Opry, which is broadcast from the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center complex, just one mile away from the Cascadia site, Kemp said.

"Gaylord is evidence that people enjoy the Music Valley area," Kemp said. "This is one of the most beautiful pieces of land in Nashville."